After a successful year knocking out opponents and box office expectations in three different markets, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe has emphasized that Gervonta Davis' next fight will be on pay-per-view.
Judging by that sentiment, a viable dance partner for the Baltimore-bred boxer is PBC stablemate Leo Santa Cruz, a popular Mexican fighter and four-division champion who’s been a television mainstay for the better part of the last decade.
Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) made his pay-per-view debut as a co-headlining attraction in November with an uneven unanimous decision victory over Miguel Flores during the Deontay Wilder’s KO win against Luis Ortiz, but he’s not letting a sub-par win deter him from more arduous opponents.
Santa Cruz spent much of 2019 calling out the likes of Davis and Gary Russell Jr. before moving up to 130 and winning the WBA junior lightweight belt that Davis vacated for his own adventures at 135, highlighted most recently with a twelfth round KO over Yuriorkis Gamboa in December — a win Santa Cruz wasn’t particularly impressed with.
“I thought Gervonta was going to knock out Gamboa in the first few rounds,” Santa Cruz told BoxingScene.com in an interview. “Gamboa is a fighter who gets hurt easily once you catch him with a good shot. I think Gervonta didn’t train the way he was supposed to train over the holidays. Maybe he was partying, or something, and it made the fight a lot harder, and him not look good. Maybe he thought the fight was going to be easy and underestimated Gamboa, but I’m ready to fight Davis.”
Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) embarked on a three-city tour in 2019 in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Atlanta, knocking out Hugo Ruiz, Ricardo Nunez and Gamboa in the process. His next tall task will be in being a PPV headliner, Santa Cruz is the most desirable test he could ask for.
“Sure, why not?,” Ellerbe said of the potential matchup. “[Santa Cruz] wants the fight, and we’re gonna see if we can make it happen.”
Santa Cruz emphasized he wants to face Davis in a 130-pound fight. When pressed, Santa Cruz said he believed a fight with Davis would eventually happen, and that he didn’t need another test himself at 130 or 135 to make it a reality. Santa Cruz said he’s also open to fighting Davis at 135. He believes a win over Davis would cement his Hall of Fame resume. The 31-year-old Los Angeles native said he’s not afraid of Davis’ dangerous and devastating power, and he wants to further prove it to boxing public by demanding for the fight to take place.
“If Gervonta and I fight, I will work really hard, a lot better than the Flores fight,” said Santa Cruz. “He will not like my pressure. If it gets passed four rounds with Davis, he’ll get tired and overwhelmed. That will be my plan to beat him.”
Having headlined shows at such locales like Staples Center (twice) in Los Angeles, Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Honda Center in Anaheim, Santa Cruz is a draw himself.
Davis has stated that he can continue campaigning either at 130 or 135 even after having some initial difficulty making the lightweight limit for his fight against Gamboa.
He’s also previously said “he’s all for it” in fighting Santa Cruz.
“I’m learning each and every day,” Davis said after the Gamboa win. “2020 will be a big year. I feel comfortable at both weights. I feel I could fight at 130 or 135. I’m the top dog. Bring ‘em on.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.